


Second Chances

by Arika_Ito



Series: Glass Axe [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Complete, F/M, Spin Off, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:53:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27693721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arika_Ito/pseuds/Arika_Ito
Summary: El goes back to Faerghus after the fall of Garreg Mach Monastery.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Series: Glass Axe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1960393
Kudos: 41





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Multiple sex scenes in the story. Read at your own caution.

“Come with me,” Hubert’s words echoed through her ears as she stared at his outstretched hand. In the middle of this chaos, Hubert is offering to escort her back to Enbarr, where she could see her father one last time.

Her heart aches. She wants to go. She wanted to see Enbarr, to see the opera house, to see her father. He was ill. He would have never approved this attack on Garreg Mach Monastery. This was the Prime Minister and his ilk’s doing. He would have never attacked the Officers’ Academy.

El stares at his hand and slowly shakes her head. “Hubert, I can’t.” She sobs quietly. “I can’t leave Dimitri.” Her hand tightens around the grip of her axe. She allowed it to fall slack as she confronted Hubert on the battlefield.

How much did he know about the attack on the Holy Tomb? What happened to Ferdinand? What happened to her siblings?

Hubert pulls back his hand, dismayed. “You are meant to be more than a queen,” he murmurs gently. “You always have been.” They are in a secluded part of the monastery grounds. They can hear the cries of battle and smell the smoke of the flames raging.

But at this moment, it’s just the two of them, childhood friends reunited and falling apart at the seams. They will never be who they used to be.

“I’m sorry, Hubert,” El whispers, looking at him. He’s no longer dressed in the Officer’s Academy uniform as he’s dressed in all black with a black cape to match. What would anyone think if they saw this scene?

Hubert shakes his head. “It’s alright,” he answers softly. “You’ve made your choice. You will stand by it and that’s alright.” He sighs, staring at the clouds overcasting the skies. “You should leave as soon as you can,” Hubert says sternly. “There are forces that you and I don’t know about that started this war.”

They hear the shrieks and cries of Demonic Beasts being unleashed on the battlefield. El’s grip on her axe tightens as they wait. “They’re using Demonic Beasts?” El mutters as blasts echoed through the air.

“And worse,” Hubert answers darkly when someone rounds the corner, Hubert uses a Miasma spell without even checking if they were part of the Imperial Army or the Church’s defenses. He commands, “Get out of here, Lady Edelgard.”

El stares at the fallen body, her eyes darting up to meet Hubert’s eyes. “You- you could come with me,” she murmurs. “Be on the right side of this war, Hubert.” She reaches out her hand for her former vassal. “Come with me.”

Hubert shakes his head immediately. “I cannot.” He answers automatically, “Someone has to look after Ferdinand,” he says wryly.

“Ferdinand’s alright?” El says surprised. She and the others had feared the worst for the Black Eagles’ house leader. He was shocked as they were in the Holy Tomb, they surely thought something must have happened to him.

Hubert nods, “He’s in Enbarr.” His lip curls as he snarls. “I have to make sure that the Prime Minister doesn’t fill his ears with poisonous drivel.” His gaze softens towards her. “I will miss you,” he murmurs gently. “I did not expect to see you again, but this year has been full of surprises. I am happy we had this time together.”

El tears up and throws herself at Hubert, hugging him tightly. “Be safe, Hubert.” She murmurs into his chest, breathing him in. The last time she touched him was at Remire Village, where she healed his wounds. It was one of the few times she had touched him, even as Edelgard. “Protect Ferdinand and my father.”

Hubert wraps his arms around her, engulfing her in his arms. “I will. You as well, Lady Edelgard.” He smells like coffee and ink and long nights. She closes her eyes and breathes in his scent. He was never physically affectionate with her- he didn’t feel that it was right.

After a minute, Hubert’s warm arms release from around her. She still clings on, someone from her past. “You have to let me go, Lady Edelgard.” Hubert comforts her by patting her on her back. “You need to run to Faerghus where it’s safe for you.” He pauses, warning her. “Don’t trust Cornelia.”

El releases him. “What?” She asks, staring at him. “Cornelia?” She remembers the mage from when she was younger. She served the Royal Family diligently. Patricia liked her.

“Don’t trust her,” Hubert confirms. He wets his lips nervously. “I have reason to believe that she is like Tomas or Monica, someone who has taken on her form who wishes to do you harm.”

“Alright,” El nods, reaching for his hands. “I-I’ll miss you, Hubert,” she leans up to press a kiss against his cheek. “Be safe.”

And so she leaves him, waiting in the courtyard. She tries her best to remember Dimitri’s position. Dimitri will keep her safe as the battle rages on. She can still hear the screams of the Demonic Beasts in the valley next to Garreg Mach.

She remembers Rhea- the Immaculate One- taking flight into the air to challenge the Demonic Beasts- after that she ran into Hubert and stared at him, unable to take the first move.

She spots Dimitri’s blond hair in the distance, killing one soldier with a pierce of his lance. She’s seen him in battle before. She knows what he looks like. But seeing the ease that he kills one trained soldier after another is unnerving.

El hears the horns in the distance. It’s been over 11 years since she saw Hector training with the Imperial Army, but he taught her their signals. That means they’re retreating. What is going on?

She spots the Imperial Army men flooding out of the monastery, leaving only death and destruction behind. The Church defenders are left surprised as their foes leave the battlefield.

“Dimitri!” She calls out, rushing towards him with her axe trailing behind her. Calm sweeps over her body, releasing the ball of tension in her stomach. They’ve been in battle before, but never something of this scale. She couldn’t stop thinking of all the ways it could have gone wrong.

Dimitri wipes the blood from his face. “El!” She runs into his arms, holding him close. She buries her head into his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” He asks, noticing the tear streaks on her face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she whispers, rubbing them away quickly. “They’re retreating,” she murmurs, pulling away to watch the Imperial Army flee. “Why are they retreating?”

Dimitri shakes his head. “I’m not sure.” He answers, watching the Imperial Army banners slowly disappear into the distance. They can no longer hear the roar of the Demonic Beasts. They were close to taking Garreg Mach, why would they leave now?

In the aftermath of the battle, the answer becomes clear. Garreg Mach may not have completely fallen, but Lady Rhea has disappeared and so has Professor Byleth. This spells doom for the Church of Seiros, losing its leader as well as the wielder of the Sword of the Creator.

They pack their things, convince Mercedes to come with them, and flee to Fhirdiad, leaving the half-ruined structure of Garreg Mach Monastery behind. It’s not safe for them any longer. The war of reunification has begun.

* * *

El tilts her head back focusing on the sensation of Dimitri rubbing her clit. In the two months since Garreg Mach fell, they fled to Fhirdiad with their friends. In those two months, they’ve both started learning each other’s bodies. El likes to ride Dimitri’s fingers and Dimitri likes to dominate El, using his body to press up against El’s smaller frame. 

“Dimitri,” El gasps as her hips rock against Dimitri’s hand. Her head turns to one side as she pants, her leg outstretched and flexing. Her hands clench in the bedding as Dimitri continues to rub her clit. He watches her, painfully turned on as his cock strains against his pants. But this is about her right now, he can come later. 

Her thighs wrap around his hand, squeezing around it. She’s going to come soon as her hips jerk and she rubs herself against Dimitri’s hand. “Oh!” She moans when she comes, her hips coming to a stop. “Fuck,” she groans as she opens one eye to look at him. 

Dimitri looks at her lovingly and presses a soft kiss on her lips. It’s early in the morning and the entire time they have been in Fhirdiad they have shared the same room. His father didn’t say anything, but some supplies appeared in the room one day and they didn’t ask. 

“You good?” Dimitri murmurs, a hand resting in her hair. She nods, pushing herself off the bed. She turns over, pressing her chest on the bed and raising her hips higher into the air. Dimitri flushes, seeing her cunt presented to him in such a fashion. But they’ve learned that this is one of his favorite positions. Something about overwhelming El makes him come even faster. 

He removes his pants in one swift motion and rolls on a sheath. He positions himself, a knee pressed on the bed and a foot planted near El’s. He slides in and they both groan. He prefers to make her come before he fucks her because it makes her all the more slick.

He grabs her hips, thrusting into her with more leverage. El moans into the bed as he starts to fuck her in earnest, feeling her firm hips under his hands. “El,” he chants, sliding in and out of her with ease. “El.”

El turns to the side and groans, “Dimitri.” He leans over, pressing his chest towards her back, using her arm to pull her up towards him. He feels her perky breasts move in timing with his thrusts. She gasps, tilting her head up and exposing her neck.

Dimitri sucks, marking her neck. He grabs her hips, grinding into her. She plants both hands on the bed but stays up, moaning all the while. He buries his head into her shoulder, groaning as he comes. 

They breathe hard, staying in place for a moment. El collapses onto the bed, landing with a soft thud. Dimitri pulls out of her, tying off the sheath with his come. He’s not sure where it came from but it made cleaning up much easier. He tosses it into the wastebasket and lies down next to El.

He pulls her on top of him, feeling her breasts pressing against his chest. She draws patterns with her finger on his skin. “We’ll have to get up soon,” Dimitri murmurs, breathing in her hair.

El nods as she rests on top of him. In the months after Garreg Mach fell, the three countries have fallen into a stalemate. The Church of Seiros disbanded as Lady Rhea disappeared. The Empire has established itself on both the Kingdom and the Alliance’s borders, but has not launched an attack on either country. 

Lord Rodrigue does his best to stay in contact with Duke Riegan, the leading figure of the Alliance, but rumors state that Duke Riegan is in poor health. Claude will eventually take over and they can only pray that Claude’s cunningness and guile will transition well into Alliance politics. They’ve heard that some parts of the Alliance are friendly towards the Empire, and if the Alliance falls, then so will the Kingdom. 

The war council has gathered in Fhirdiad, in which Dimitri plays a key part. As does Felix for Lord Rodrigue set down his weapons long ago. But the louder voices dominate the stage because while they’ve both seen combat, they are seen as too young and naïve to lead a war. 

Dimitri secretly believes that El should be part of the war council as well, but she has been shunted into a role that does suit her, just not as well as a title of general would. She and Mercedes are in charge of the medical forces that will be up and running. They learned a great deal from Professor Manuela while at the Officer’s Academy and are using her teachings to educate other healers. 

Ingrid and Sylvain have been spared for the war effort as well, just in charge of the pegasi and the horses. Captain Jeralt and Seteth taught them well at Garreg Mach. Ashe is in Arianrhod as Castle Gaspard has been seized for the war effort. It is the first line of defense for the Kingdom and needs to be well fortified. He thinks Dedue is doing his best to convince him to come to Fhirdiad with his siblings. Annette is in Fhirdiad as well, her uncle, Baron Dominic, is part of the war council. 

“I need to see Mercedes,” El remarks calmly, pushing herself off Dimitri. Her long brown hair drifts over her shoulder as she slides her legs over the bed, completely nude. 

“Mercedes?” Dimitri says questioningly, pushing himself off the bed too. Even as crown prince, he has no time to stay in bed all day. “Is something the matter?”

El shakes her head. “Well, not really.” She admits softly. She presses a hand towards her stomach. “I haven’t had my monthly courses in a while, but it might be due to stress. Mercedes is going to check on me to make sure everything is alright.”

Dimitri nods, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Let me know what she says, okay."

* * *

El rests her head on a mat, peering at Mercedes. It’s still early in the day and their students have not yet arrived. It was a joint effort between her and Annette to convince Mercedes to flee with them to Fhirdiad. They did not trust her adoptive father. 

They tried to convince Dorothea to come as well, but instead; she returned to Enbarr to the Mittlefrank Opera house. She wrote to them that Professor Manuela was thinking of rejoining her there. Petra left for Enbarr as well. The threat towards her county was too great for even to consider going anywhere other than the Empire. 

At the very least, last they heard was that Bernadetta left with Raphael and Ignatz- which surprised everyone- and that Caspar and Linhardt left also, which surprised no one. Except for the fact that Linhardt was willing to spend time outdoors. 

Annette sits, daintily perched on the table as Mercedes raises a glowing green hand towards El. She wasn’t as talented in Faith Magic as they were, but she was still a powerful warlock in her own right. She would help with the offensive Reason magic battalions in the war effort. That is, if something happened.

It unnerved her. They had heard nothing from Enbarr. No reason or explanation for the attack. There were no demands or communications of any kind of sort. If it wasn’t for the smoldering wreck of the monastery, one could arguably say that there was no war at all. 

She hasn’t tried to write to Hubert, that would be foolish. He probably couldn’t get any letters out either. Any news about Petra has been sent by Dorothea in their letters. But Dorothea hasn’t seen Ferdinand either. Hubert said that he was still alive, but there had been no sign of the Imperial heir since. 

Mercedes runs her warm green glowing hand over El’s stomach, frowning slightly. She stops and then runs the hand over again. “Everything alright, Mercie?” Annette asks curiously as El has her knees propped up. She removed her dress for the examination and is in her undergarments. 

Mercedes doesn’t say anything but runs her hand over El’s stomach once more before removing it, allowing the green glow to subside. “El... when did you last say your monthly course was?” She inquires, writing something down on her notepad. 

El frowns, thinking back. “Before the attack on Garreg Mach,” she answers truthfully. She, like all other noble girls, kept track of her monthly cycle. Maybe Hilda didn’t, but she noted it in her calendar. If there were any irregularities like this, she could track it with ease. 

“So it’s been three months,” Mercedes concludes gently, her quill coming to a stop. El nods, she’s missed a cycle here and there before but nothing consistent like this. She’s sure it’s nothing to worry about. She’s never experienced a continental war like this one because while the Empire attacked the Church of Seiros, it was not hard to expect that eventually, they would turn their sights on the Kingdom and the Alliance. 

“What’s wrong?” El asks expectantly. Mercedes’s lips have turned white as she presses them together. “Mercedes, tell me what’s wrong.”

Mercedes hesitates, “There’s nothing wrong.” She explains calmly. She looks at El, hesitating. “But El, I think you’re with child.”

Annette chokes on the apple she was eating as El stares at Mercedes in complete shock. “Oh,” El says, running a hand through her loose hair. “Oh. Uh-” She stands up and begins to pace, thinking deeply. She swallows, “How far along am I?” She asks, looking at Mercedes.

“You’re far along enough that I can sense it,” Mercedes answers patiently. “I would recommend that you see someone more experienced with childbirth, someone like a midwife perhaps. Maybe Cornelia?” She purses her lips, looking at El with concern. 

El freezes, Hubert’s words echoing in her head. Cornelia has been in Arianrhod with Duke Rufus. She saw her when they first arrived from Fhirdiad, but she gave no sign of treachery. But Hubert wouldn’t lie to her, so she kept her distance. El shakes her head. “I’ll trust your word,” El wets her lips. “It must be for two months, though.” She hesitates, continuing to shake her head, flushing pink. “Dimitri and I- we’ve only started having...sex recently.” 

Annette burns red as she looks away, but Mercedes barely reacts, nodding. She writes down in her notes. “You had your monthly course before you had sex?” She asks pointedly. Mercedes keeps her notes locked in her office at all times. El knows she can trust Mercedes like this. El nods again. “What kind of protection have you been using?” 

“Okay,” Annette croaks out, standing up. “I’m going to be leaving then.” Mercedes holds onto her arm, pinning her with a single look. “Annie, you should be listening too.” She warns lightly. “This is important.”

El burns red, thinking. “We haven’t.” El murmurs, thinking back to the sheath Dimitri used earlier this morning. Mercedes looks at her, surprised. “Not the first time, we didn’t.” She remembers that night. Awkward, but full of love. Dorothea didn’t mention protection! “We’ve been using it since we arrived in Fhirdiad, though.”

Mercedes nods, “That’s good,” she notes quietly. “If you’re two months along already, then you’re still in the early stages of pregnancy. El, I’d highly recommend reaching out to a midwife,” she remarks gently. “I know the basics, but a midwife would be best for you.”

El swallows, “Cornelia will be busy at Arianrhod,” she says calmly, dread settling in. “There must be someone else at the palace that can monitor me.”

* * *

After a long day of meetings, Dimitri finally collapses into bed. It wasn’t unusual for El to be out further than him. She was busy with her work as he was with his. 

El comes back, a distant look on her face. He watches her comb in her hair, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Is everything alright?” He murmurs, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “How did it go with Mercedes?”

She stiffens, her hand clenching around the handle of the brush. “El?” He asks worriedly, watching her carefully. “Is everything alright?” His heart drops to his stomach. He can’t lose El, not now. Not ever. He grips her hands tight and moves the brush to the banister. “El?”

El blinks at him, her eyes full of... fear. She clears her throat and sits down on the bed with him. “Everything is fine,” she babbles, intertwining their fingers together. “I’m-, I’m pregnant.”

Oh. Dimitri stays frozen in place, slowly absorbing the information. “My thoughts exactly,” El says wryly, running her thumb across a scar on Dimitri’s hand.

Dimitri presses his forehead to hers, “Do you know how far along you are?” He asks gently, looking into her eyes. She looks more relieved now, although that pit in Dimitri’s stomach grows larger.

“Has to be two months right?” El answers, “We’ve been using protection since we arrived in Fhirdiad. The only time we’ve had sex without it...was that night.” Dimitri pulls El into his lap, feeling her firm weight on his legs. His father was in his early twenties when Dimitri was born. As the prince, he was expected to have heirs, but he wasn’t expecting this quickly.

He presses a hand towards El’s stomach, “And when do you think you’ll show?” He asks curiously. He does not have very much experience with pregnant women. What happens if he hurts El?

“I’m not sure,” El responds, shaking her head. “I’ll go see a midwife tomorrow just to do a general check-up and see if I need to be put on supplements but since it’s still so early, I can’t imagine for quite some time.”

“A midwife?” Dimitri asks confused, “Why don’t we reach out to Cornelia?” Cornelia had been the royal mage for the family for decades, coming into service after she treated the plague that killed his mother. She was well known for her talents. She could look after El with ease.

El stiffens in his lap, her back straightening. “You- you have to promise you won’t be upset.” El murmurs gently, turning to look at him. Dimitri nods, El’s legs dangling over his lap.

“I saw Hubert at Garreg Mach,” El whispers, staring into his eyes. Dimitri tightens his grip around El’s wrist, his heart pounding at the words. “He warned me about Cornelia.” She winces, pulling her wrist away from Dimitri’s grip. 

“And you trust him?” Dimitri hisses, angrily. Hubert had been part of the problems that plagued their time at Garreg Mach. Everything that had gone wrong, he had been a part of it. Ferdinand disappeared because of him. 

“Hubert wouldn’t lie to me,” El retorts quickly, getting out of his lap to look at Dimitri properly. “Not like this. Duke Aegir told him to bring Ferdinand back to Enbarr. He was just following orders.”

“Following orders?” Dimitri spits out. “He had a choice, El. He turned against everyone!” The anger in him rises. Even if Hubert and El were friends, they weren’t anymore. It had been over ten years since El last saw Hubert. She didn’t know how much he could have changed.

“I choose to trust Hubert,” El says coldly. “If he doesn’t trust Cornelia, then I don’t trust Cornelia.” Her gaze turns stiff and frigid. She pulls away from Dimitri, hiding her face. 

Dimitri runs a hand through his hair. “What’s he saying about Cornelia then?” He retorts, it was hard to think El would trust Hubert, who betrayed everyone for the Empire than Cornelia, who had loyally served his family for almost fifteen years. 

“That she’s like Tomas and Monica, someone has taken her place,” El responds flatly, still looking away. Her hands are clenched in her lap, though. 

Dimitri stares at her, reaching a hand out. “I- I’m sorry, El,” he apologizes quietly. “I don’t trust him.”

El nods slowly. “I know,” she murmurs, turning her head to look at him. “Hubert has always wanted what is best for me,” El mentions gently. “He- he offered to take me back to Enbarr in secret.” She whispers under her breath. “He offered for me to see my father.”

“What?” Dimitri says, his blood running cold as he stares at El’s lowered head. “I-what?”

El shakes her head. “I told him no,” El murmurs, taking Dimitri’s hands. She looks up, her eyes shining with wet tears. “My father, he’s sick.” A single tear falls down her face. “I don’t think he’s going to live much longer and I haven’t seen him since the Insurrection.” She chokes back a wet sob. “But I couldn’t leave you.” 

Dimitri pulls her close, hugging her in a tight embrace, his anger at the moment washing over him. El needed comforting. They would handle Cornelia at a different time. She was more important. 

To everyone’s surprise and perhaps no one’s surprise, Mercedes becomes her midwife. Or at least, the midwife El hired teaches Mercedes as much as she can in order to make sure Mercedes is equipped to deal with the royal pregnancy.

* * *

El’s around seven months right now, and she feels enormously large. She hasn’t seen her feet in weeks. She’s also very frustrated right now.

Poor Mercedes. She has to deal with El because Annette and Ingrid turn red when El vents about her sexual frustrations that is. Dimitri hasn’t touched her since they found out she was pregnant and she’s about to explode. 

“I know I’m not exactly attractive right now,” El gestures to her round belly. She has to be careful with how she shifts her weight because, at seven months, she’s awkwardly large. Her clothes don’t fit. She can’t sleep on her stomach or her back anymore. “But this sucks.” She laments, resting her head on the table. She’s miserable and horny at this point and Dimitri won’t touch her.

Mercedes pats her back comfortingly. She’s had her hands full running the medical division, getting everyone up to speed. Her adopted father wrote to her, calling her all sorts of horrible names. They burned that letter. And then those letters suddenly stopped. 

“I’m surprised Dimitri’s behaving this way,” Mercedes responds, stopping in her notes. “You two...were quite busy before you discovered you were pregnant, correct?” 

El nods miserably, too frustrated to be embarrassed. “Very busy,” she emphasizes, thinking of their morning and nightly routine. A little shamelessly too. She misses it.

“Well,” Mercedes thinks out loud. “It’s not because he doesn’t want you that he’s doing this,” she points out. “Because while men can become strange at the sight of a pregnant woman, Dimitri has loved you a long time.” 

El nods. Or that’s what she thought before they hit this dry spell. She sighs, pressing her forehead back onto the table.

A knock on the door interrupts her thoughts. Mercedes glances at El, expectantly. She’s more than okay saying she’s busy, but El nods, perhaps against her best interests. 

“Come in!” Mercedes says cheerily, El raises her head off the table. It wouldn’t look very good if the prince’s wife was moping. People would be worried about the baby.

Sylvain comes in with a stack of papers. “Hey El,” he grins as Mercedes directs him to drop the papers off near her desk. It’s grown larger over the months. “How ya doing?” 

El shares a look with Mercedes, “I’ve had better days,” she grouses, putting her head back on the table. Sylvain’s seen her miserable, she doesn’t care. 

She doesn’t see Sylvain glance at Mercedes concerned and Mercedes shake her head. “Anything I can help with?” Sylvain asks gently. She hears the small cot thump as Sylvain sits on it. Mercedes keeps it in her room for long nights.

If El didn’t love Dimitri, he could have been an option. Dorothea always said he was good for at least something. Her cheeks always burned at the songstresses’ words. She had known Sylvain since they were young. It was an awkward thing to think about. 

“Has Dimitri talked to you about anything?” El asks hesitantly. If he didn’t talk to her, maybe he would talk to Sylvain or someone. “About me?” She lifts her head from the table to look at Sylvain. 

Sylvain blinks and shakes his head. “No, he hasn’t. Is everything okay?” He shifts closer to the table. “Are you alright?” 

El huffs, frustrated. “It’s stupid,” she answers, Dimitri never talked about his problems. If he wouldn’t talk to El, then why would he talk to Sylvain? 

Sylvain bumps her chair with his foot. “Nothing’s stupid,” he murmurs gently. “So what’s up?”

El looks towards the ceiling, praying that Sothis wasn’t listening right now. “Dimitri….we- we haven’t had sex in months and I’m worried he’s just not interested in this, right now.” she gestures to her stomach. “That he’s not interested in me. That he doesn’t love me anymore.”

Sylvain scoffs, “No way.” He says firmly. “Dimitri’s been in love with you since forever. There’s no way Dimitri would ever fall out of love with you.” He shares a look with Mercedes. He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up. “So you guys haven’t had sex in a while. I assume it had to do with the baby?” He asks curiously. “Because you guys were running through supplies pretty quickly.” 

El’s cheeks burn, and she looks away. Now that she knew it was Sylvain supplying them, she felt much more embarrassed. She didn’t need to know that Sylvain had intimate details about her sex life, thank you very much. She nods, cheeks still flushing red. 

Sylvain taps his chin. “Well, if you don’t mind me asking. Dimitri still sleeps in the same bed, right?” El nods miserably. She enjoyed feeling the warmth of Dimitri’s body as winter in Faerghus drew closer. “Does he spend a lot of time in the bathroom?”

El and Mercedes both stare at him, sharing a look. El raises a brow, “I think so?” She answers hesitantly. It was hard to describe what a lot of time was for Dimitri.

“Let me rephrase,” Sylvain says. “In the mornings or nights, do you find Dimitri in the bathroom before you wake up? Is he in there at random times?”

El thinks back to the many nights, trying to remember. “Yes, he does,” El murmurs, thinking back to the long minutes Dimitri spent in the bathroom before going to bed. She never woke to him sleeping next to her and in the past, Dimitri well- he liked to cuddle, a lot even if he wasn’t aware of it.

“There you go,” Sylvain grins. “Dimitri’s probably still attracted you but uh- he likes to spend time in the bathroom to make sure he doesn’t want to have sex with you instead.” El stares at him flatly. 

“What he means to say is that Dimitri’s most likely masturbating in the bathroom all this time,” Mercedes explains gently.

El stares at him warily. She can’t believe she’s getting advice from Sylvain- Mercedes? Yes, understandable but Sylvain. “So what do I need to do?”

Sylvain smirks. “Take matters into your own hands.”

* * *

When Dimitri wakes up, his hands are tied to the bedpost. His blood goes cold. Has he been kidnapped? Where is El? He looks wildly around and spots El, red-faced, sitting on the corner of the bed. “El? What’s going on?”

El’s wearing a silk nightgown that brushes her knees as her belly grows even larger. He’s had to spend some time in the bathroom, relieving himself. He desperately wants to push her down, but he doesn’t want to hurt the baby.

El clears her throat, turning bright red. “I’m-I’m taking matters into my own hands,” she says resolutely. She reaches for his pants, and he stills, as she drags them down to his knees. He feels his cock getting hard. He should break out of his restraints, he’s strong enough to do it. But he also wants to see where she’s going with this. She takes his cock out of his pants and begins to stroke it tentatively.

“You haven’t touched me since we learned about the baby,” El points out, rubbing her thumb against the head of the cock. “And I am-frustrated, sexually,” she adds. 

Dimitri’s hips buck under her touch and he pants. El smiles, beginning to move her hand on his shaft. “This is okay?” She asks quietly, looking at him. Dimitri nods and she shifts closer to him so she can lower her mouth onto his cock.

His hips jerk when her tongue flares out around his head. His forced celibacy of five months didn’t seem to help anyone, least of El it seems. But it sounded like a good idea. He didn’t want to hurt the baby or El. 

El looks up at him with her big purple eyes and her hand massaging the base of his cock. He groans, his hips stuttering as her warm mouth envelopes him. Fuck. He wants to run his hands through her soft hair. 

She lies between his legs, her head bobbing up and down on his cock. His wrists strain against his ties and he wants to rip them, but he wants to see what El is going to do. El releases his cock from her lips with a pop and crawls up towards him, her soft body pressing against his leg. He suppresses a groan as her fingers reach for him.

“I quite like you like this,” El coos, raising her dress to her hips. She positions herself over him, guiding his cock inside of her. She sinks onto his hard, aching cock. Her head falls back as she moans, her warm core enveloping him. She digs her fingers into his tunic, groaning. “Fuck,” she curses as she rocks her hips. Dimitri moans too, as her knees are planted on both sides of him. 

She rides him, lifting her dress off her to reveal her bare body and her growing stomach. He groans at the sight, his hands clenching at the thought. Her hips gyrate on top of him as she keens. She pants and he feels her core tightening around him. She’s close. 

When she finishes, she squeezes around him and collapses, her head resting on her chest. “El,” Dimitri pleads, he doesn’t want to break the bed. That’s something he doesn’t want to explain to the others. She looks up and reaches over to untie his hands from the bed, her breasts swaying enticingly over his face. 

Dimitri grabs her hips and bucks upwards, thrusting into her. El keens, her breasts jiggling with every move. “Dimitri,” she moans, her nails digging into Dimitri’s chest as he fucks her to completion. 

Dimitri curses, spending himself inside of her. El collapses next to him, chest bright pink from exertion, their fingers tangled with each other.

* * *

By the 8th month, El feels extraordinarily large. Even the mid-wife she hired says that she’s larger than expected. But given King Lambert’s and Dimitri’s height, this perhaps is not unexpected. She’s fairly certain that she waddles from place to place, but no one laughs at her, which is nice. 

There has been no news from the Empire in three months, and that simple fact makes her blood run cold. No news of Ferdinand, no news of Hubert, and no news of her father. What was going on in the Empire? 

Dimitri is pressed against her, his face near her neck as his hand rests protectively over her stomach. She finally pried it out of him that the reason he did not touch her was that he was afraid of hurting the baby. They found other ways around it. 

There’s this thought that won’t leave her head. It’s annoying, but she’s been toying with it. When the Insurrection occurred, it was seven nobles standing against her father. They were all in positions of power in the government except for her uncle. However, many minor nobles opposed the Insurrection and were subsequently punished for it.

Could El risk the chance of becoming Edelgard? Could she reclaim her name? She was going to have a child one way or the other by the end of this year? Could she reclaim her father’s throne? 

She reaches for Dimitri’s hand, squeezing it. She feels the rough calluses and thinks. The Kingdom would back her claim- King Lambert would back her claim. She had the Crest of Seiros and her father’s hair color. She could prove herself easily from being the Hresvelg line, the last Hresvelg Princess. It could be done. But should it? 

* * *

Dimitri’s feet jitter against the floor, his head resting in his hands. With every scream, he flinches, resisting the urge to run in. If he was in there, he would be in the way. 

The others have tried distracting him- El was walking around earlier before her contractions forced her back into bed. They started in the night and Mercedes was roused away to tend to her. 

Felix sits next to him, oddly silent. Mercedes is helping the midwife with the birth and Annette is supporting her in case anything happens. The first birth is always the hardest. 

The midwife warned him earlier that because while El’s hips were wide, she was small. If the baby was larger than average, it could cause complications. And because El was so large, even in the late stages of her pregnancy, there was a chance. He couldn’t lose her. 

Annette dashes out of the door, searching for Dimitri. His head jerks towards her as she grins broadly. “Congrats!” She beams, “It’s a boy!” Dimitri exhales and tosses his head back as his father pats him on the shoulder. His hands clench in his pants as he breathes.

“And how is El?” Dimitri blurts out, watching Annette. She didn’t say anything else and while no news could be good news, he needed to hear it.

“She’s doing well,” Annette responds. “Her vitals are stable and the baby is healthy. I have to head back in, but I just wanted to let you know.” She smiles brightly.

“Annie!” They hear Mercedes’ voice through the door. Dimitri’s heart stops as he freezes. Annette turns her head, glancing at Dimitri before she runs back in. It feels like a year passes before Annette comes back out. 

His heart stops. His father’s hand rests on his shoulder. He can’t breathe. 

“There are two of them. It’s twins. ” Annette murmurs, looking at Dimitri. “It’s a boy and a girl.”

* * *

El rests her head on Dimitri’s chest. The babies are with their nursemaids right now- she wanted to breastfeed them herself, but that wasn’t traditional. Despite being twins, her pregnancy was smoother than most she’s told. They were smaller than expected, but her belly could only grow so much. She traces a pattern on Dimitri’s skin, closing her eyes. She’s been on bed rest since giving birth, and that might be worse than actually being pregnant.

“Are you okay?” Dimitri’s chest rumbles as he asks her a question. He runs a hand through her hair, curling it into a fist at the end. His firm hands bring her comfort, she feels less lonely when he’s pressed his warm body against hers. It’s a godsend in the winter in the Kingdom.

They’ve named the children Alexandria and Edward. They are theirs. No one is going to hurt them or take them away.

“Just thinking,” El responds. The Empire remains silent. They’ve sent out the royal announcements, letting everyone know that twins have been born to the Prince and his Wife. The Alliance already sent their regards and gifts, but they’ve heard nothing from the Empire. She doesn’t mind that, but not hearing anything from them is worrisome.

“You’re always thinking,” Dimitri teases, pulling her up so he can see her face. “But this is something different, isn’t it?” He rests his hand on the small of her back protectively. That’s a new thing for him- he was protective at the Officer’s Academy, but since they realized she was pregnant, it’s been on a whole new level.

“It’s about the Empire,” El confesses. The preparations at Castle Gaspard are complete. If the Empire attacks there, they will find resistance. “I don’t like this, not hearing from them at all. It’s strange.” The Church of Seiros fell with the disappearance of Rhea. Seteth leads its remains, but he commands very little power.

The churches scattered across the land act independently now. Their base of power is in ruins as Garreg Mach has become a home to bandits and thieves. There isn’t much hope for them. “They wanted something... but they won’t say what it is they want.”

Dimitri nods, Lord Rodrigue is in charge of communications from the Empire. He hasn’t heard anything either. Any sources of information there get rooted out quickly and completely. “It is strange,” Dimitri admits. “It’s been almost a year since the attack and nothing has happened. We haven’t even received word about the Emperor or Ferdinand. And…”

“The Emperor was reportedly ill before the attack,” El finishes for him. She hasn’t seen her father in over ten years. She hopes that he’s doing well, but with the death of all of her siblings, he’s probably all alone in the palace. “He could have died, and they didn’t tell us,” El states quietly. She hates the thought of that, but it is a possibility. Would they crown Ferdinand in secret?

Dimitri presses a light kiss to her forehead. “What do you want to do?” Dimitri murmurs into her ear, a puff of air brushing against her face.

El buries her face into his shoulder. “I want to do something, anything,” El admits. Her father might be dead, but he’s not the last Hresvelg. She’s still here.

* * *

El sits, curled into his lap. It’s another late night for both of them. The children are both doing well- they have hearty appetites and it’s their favorite thing to just watch them. They’ve opened their eyes and are making noises now. He wants them around every second and he knows El does too but they sleep in a nursery separate from them. He wants to move them into their room. But that isn’t proper.

Dimitri kisses her neck, distractedly. She’s still sore from giving birth and they won’t do anything until she’s more comfortable, but the way she has her hair styled today is very...distracting.

She suppresses a shiver, reading through what little correspondence they have from the Empire. They got a letter from Claude, congratulating them on the birth of Alexandria and Edward. They got letters from everyone with gifts attached as well for the children and El.

“Can I ask you something?” El murmurs, her words muffled by his collarbone. Dimitri looks at her expectantly. He raises an eyebrow and she huffs. “This lack of information from the Empire- it’s not encouraging. I’m sick of it and I’m sure the Alliance is sick of it too. We’re being led around.”

Dimitri pauses in his marking of El. “By who?” Dimitri asks quickly, encircling her hand with his own. She tends to do this a lot- having conspiracy theories, but here’s the thing, she’s usually not wrong.

“Someone,” El mutters, frustrated. She runs a hand through her hair. “Someone is pulling our strings and I don’t like it.” She chews on her lip, bruising it.

“What do you think we should do?” Dimitri murmurs, holding her close. He trusts El’s instincts, she hasn't led him astray yet.

El’s jaw works as she thinks. “How about we try forcing their hand?” El suggests, squeezing his hand. “We do something that they don’t predict.”

“Like what?” Dimitri asks, bewildered. Is she considering a treaty with the Alliance? It would be hard to swing that considering the opposition that Duke Riegan would face if he did side with the Kingdom. Was she thinking about attacking the borders? The latest numbers from Castle Gaspard reported the border is heavily fortified by the Empire. It would take days if not weeks to break into the Empire.

“What if we revealed who I was?” El murmurs, meeting his eyes. “What if we told the world that I was Edelgard von Hresvelg, rightful heir to the Adrestian throne? I bear the Crest of Seiros. I look like a Hresvelg. They won’t be expecting that.”

Dimitri stares at her in shock. That wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. But it would shock the rest of Fodlan. There were only five people who knew who she was. Four of them were in this castle; the last one was her uncle, who she hadn’t seen in years.

She notices his hesitation. “It’s just a thought,” El soothes, cupping his face. “If your father opposes this, we can drop it but I truly believe that if we were to tell people who I was, they would support us even in the Empire. Duke Aegir’s rule has not been popular. People remember the Hresvelgs, they are loyal to us.”

“What if they accuse the Kingdom of kidnapping you?” Dimitri asks, his throat dry. She could say the Empire supported her but what happened if they turned it on them? His father would look suspicious for harboring an Imperial princess in his capital.

“My mother,” El says triumphantly. “She didn’t trust the Insurrection- look what happened to the rest of the Imperial Family. She kept me in the Kingdom to ensure my safety. Duke Aegir’s rule poisons everyone. It’s poisoning the Emperor, that’s why he’s ill.”

He swallows as his Adam’s apple bobbing. “If you think that it’s a good idea, El, then I’ll support you.”

She kisses him gently, pressing her forehead against his. “Dimitri, I really really do think it's a good idea.” She looks into his eyes, determined. “I love you, Dimitri.”  
  



End file.
